Virtual conference

GS1: Conference Welcome

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | 1 CEU

Presenter: Dan Schwebach, Chief Business Development Officer.

AAPC will kick off the conference with a welcome message. We plan to introduce exciting new and upcoming developments within AAPC and the industry and to relate how these changes will impact your daily life.

Breakout session 1

10:05 AM – 11:20 AM | 1.25 CEUs

1A: Generative AI and NLP in Medical Coding

Presenter: Balaji Sundararajan | Guru Raja

Medical billing is a complex and tedious process that involves coding, filing, verifying, and collecting claims for healthcare services. Medical billing errors can result in revenue loss, compliance issues, and customer dissatisfaction. To improve the quality and efficiency of medical billing, many healthcare organizations are adopting generative AI and NLP technologies. Generative AI and NLP are branches of artificial intelligence that can create new data from existing data, such as text, speech, images, video, and code.

1B: Value-Based Healthcare & Bundled Payments

Presenter: Dr. Sara Al Dallal

Bundled payments are a key component of value-based healthcare (VBHC), where a single payment is made for all services related to a specific treatment or condition over a defined period. This approach encourages providers to coordinate care more effectively, as they share the financial risk associated with the treatment. By receiving a fixed payment for a bundle of services, providers are incentivized to deliver high-quality care efficiently, reducing unnecessary tests and procedures, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes and lower overall healthcare costs.

EH1 – Break

11:20 AM – 11:30 AM

Breakout session 2

11:30 AM – 12:45 PM | 1.25 CEUs

2A: ICD-10-CM 2025 Updates - What Healthcare Professionals Need to Observe?

Presenter: Hemamalini Alex

We will look into the summary of the updated changes of 2025 ICD-10-CM updates. CMS announced the updates for diagnosis coding will happen during April and October every year. These codes are to be used for date of discharges from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025. There are close to 252 new codes, 36 code deletions and 13 code revisions. We will discuss in brief about the updates of the codes and the guidelines.

2B: AI - Coding and CDI

Presenter: Michelle Broberg

Artificial intelligence in healthcare, is changing the landscape of healthcare. However, this evolution needs to be understood by all so that the buzzwords are not just words but identification of that technology to ensure that we enable a better, safer, smarter environment for coding of the future.

EH2 – Break

12:45 PM – 12:55 PM

Breakout session 3

01:00 PM – 2:15 PM | 1.25 CEUs

3A: Denial Management - Impact and Role of Al in Denials

Presenter: Adi Laxmi, CPC, CPC-I, CIC, CRC, CPMA, CCS, AM

• Understand denial and its root cause

• Strategize action to fix current denial and provide insights to avoid recurrence in the future.

CDI and its role in avoiding denials - contribution of coder for CDI

• Change Health outage and its impact on billing

• BCP and Proactive approach to be followed due to technology partner outage.

• Recovery plan and timelines to achieve a stable state

• Al and its capabilities in different specialties

3B: Hospital - Acquired conditions

Presenter: Dr. Farheen Mashhood Kirmani, MBBS, CCSP, CPC, CPC-P, CPMA, CDEO, CAIMC, CMR

The presentation comprises understanding HAC, POA indicators, ensuring accurate coding for HAC-related services. Health systems are struggling with interoperability and the associated challenges due to HAC have effects throughout the enterprise and how to improve with better training, clinical documentation, following the correct billing rules. Managing HAC Claims in Recovery Audits.

EH3 – Lunch Break

2:15 PM – 2:45 PM

Breakout session 4

2:50 PM – 4:05 PM | 1.25 CEUs

4A: E&M Coding tips and complexity of G2211

Presenter: S ShivaKumar, BPT, DPF, CPC, COC, CEMC, CCS-P

Nuances of Visit complexity add-on code G2211 — to enlighten the mysteries behind the coding CPT G2211 and tips to increase the revenue for the provider. EM coding tips to boost physician revenue — greater emphasis is being placed on time-based coding to enhance provider documentation, which will ease coding accuracy and increase provider income.

4B: Clinicians role in documentation and coding, requirements for IP and OP

Presenter: Dr. Ramya Vincent, PhD, CPC, CBCS

The content of the presentation will include the following:

1. What is a good documentation per coder/biller perspective with samples

2. What are mandatory requirements to be documented by physicians for OP and IP claims

3. Most common documentation errors by Physicians

4. Tools available to help doctor documentation

5. Revenue augmentation or leakage due to documentation

EH4 – Break

4:05 PM – 4:15 PM

Breakout session 5

4:15 PM – 5:30 PM | 1.25 CEUs

5A: Home Health Care Coding Overview

Presenter: Sreenivas Reddy, CPC, BCHH-C

1. Learn what defines home health care

2. Learn about the two main coding systems used

3. We’ll discuss the purpose and function of the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS)

4. We’ll identify the different home health coding levels and their significance

5. You’ll learn the basic principles of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and its impact on coding

5B: Revenue Cycle Changes and Healthcare Impacts

Presenter: Sunil Raj, CIC, COC

Healthcare regulators and payers in the UAE are introducing a series of reforms to the country's healthcare revenue cycle payment system. These changes are expected to have a significant impact on healthcare revenue. It is crucial for healthcare practices to assess how these regulatory changes will shape revenue cycle management in the near future. The topic will explore the key changes in detail and provide guidance on how to effectively prepare for this evolving landscape. 

EH4 – Break

5:30 PM – 5:45 PM

Breakout session 6

5:45 PM – 7:00 PM | 1.25 CEUs

6A: Scope of Clinical Documentation Specialist

Bala Murali CK, CIC, CPMA, CPC

Experience the transformative impact of clinical documentation improvement (CDI) in optimizing healthcare records for better patient outcomes, quality, and reimbursement accuracy. Bridge the gap between coders and practitioners. Accelerate coding processes and reduce denials with the expertise of CDI specialists ensuring comprehensive documentation for Medicare, Medicaid, and other commercial payers.

6B: Auditing Providers

Presenter: Pommani Ebenezer, CPC, CPMA

The presentation will include, the aims or objectives of auditing a provider. audit scope and criteria, data collection process, coding accuracy assessment, compliance check, issues identified with RCA action plan and recommendations, documentation and reporting, feedback sessions, follow-up and monitoring, and conclusion.

GS2: Local Chapter Pannel | Q&A Session with Give Aways

7:00 PM – 8:00 PM | 1 CEU

Presenter: Local Chapter Team

Raemarie Jimenez, President of Membership and Content - AAPC

Dan Schwebach, Chief Business Development Officer – AAPC

Ali Hadi, Sr. Director of Education and Training - AAPC

Brian Van Norman, Executive Director - AAPC